London, 14 May (Argus) — The UN clean development mechanism (CDM) executive board (EB) is considering several steps to streamline project assessment to make small-scale projects more attractive, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said.
During the CDM EB's meeting in Bonn, Germany, last week, it decided to ask the UNFCCC secretariat to prepare a proposal to expand the list of projects that automatically qualify for eligibility under the CDM in order to “greatly extend the benefits of the CDM”. The board also wants to consider whether the project validation step could be omitted for these projects.
The CDM board had previously agreed upon a list of project types that could be considered automatically additional because of their merit, meaning they would not need an extensive validation process to check their additionality. Such projects automatically qualify because of their clear ability to reduce emissions and the obvious barriers they face to implementation. A critical requirement of CDM projects is whether they are additional, or whether the emission reductions the project produces would have occurred without the project.
Stakeholders have frequently called for the establishment of “positive lists” of projects that can qualify without elaborate and costly validation procedures, UNFCCC said.
“What the board now wants to consider is how this list could be expanded by setting a size criteria — based on potential emission reductions and capacities — that could be applied to a range of project types,” the UNFCCC said. “Further, the board wants to consider whether for these projects the project validation step could be abbreviated or dropped altogether in some cases.”
These changes would increase the attractiveness of several smaller project types, including projects installing efficient cook stoves, solar water heaters, biogas digesters and other small-size renewable energy generating systems. The changes will be considered later this year.
“This is an exciting initiative because it could spur a great many, very beneficial projects in regions that have yet to fully benefit from the CDM,” board chair Maosheng Duan said.
Positive lists of projects are especially useful when combined with the programme of activities (PoA) approach to CDM, stakeholders have said. PoAs group multiple, smaller projects together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the umbrella of one CDM project. Once the PoA is registered, an unlimited number of similar projects can be added and administered over time without the need to register each one individually. The PoA is seen as an important means to extend the reach of the CDM, particularly in under-represented regions, the UNFCCC said.
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